My little Dot mkII finally arrived today. I also bought the GE JAN 5654W and Voskhod 6J1P-EV driver tubes and Novosibirsk 6H6PI power tube as other people have recommended. I can't wait to test it now. XD
Alex903Yeah, those tubes are widely recommended. Can you share your experience with each type? Do not rush though, new tube need hours to burn in and the ear also need hours to judge.
jasonlook1st day experience with the MKII = toss away the 6N6 power tube that comes with the amp because it creates background noise even with the lowest gain setting. Luckily, I have bought Novosibirsk 6H6PI power tube. No more background noise after changing to 6H6PI.
Alex903I am still using the stock 6N6 power tubes (while waiting for 6H6Pi and 6H30 EB to arrive) and I must say they are absolutely quiet with no noise at all on +5 gain on my LD MKll. It looks like I just got a good pair. They actually sound much better than expected with NOS GE JAN5654W. I'm in no hurry to upgrade, but will be interesting to compare when new tubes get to me (eventually...).
kevin8715There are a number of good eBay sellers for 6N6P and variants if you want to save a few bucks. Otherwise order from any of a number of USA based tube dealers at a higher price, but perhaps more peace of mind and faster shipping. I don't want to link directly to any particular vendors here.